Hotel Giant Launches Hotstarts Training for New Associates in Anticipation of its Aggressive Expansion Plans in the Region
SINGAPORE, July 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts kicks off its first HotStarts program for new associates in Asia Pacific, with the inaugural program taking place in China. The largest of its kind for new sales and marketing associates to the company and the region, HotStarts will be held in Shanghai from 16th to 18th July 2008.
The Sales & Marketing training will be attended by over 100 delegates from 10 countries in Asia Pacific, comprising sales and marketing executives who are new to the organization. The delegates represent the hotel brands under the Starwood group, including St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels and the newly launched aloft hotels. HotStarts will be focused on delivering the company strategy and objectives, learning about alignment, and leveraging the Starwood tools and systems to drive market share.
"We made the decision to launch HotStarts as part of our many initiatives to build the talent pool in the company. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific is growing at an unprecedented rate and managing the human capital is our number one priority. We have developed comprehensive orientation tools to groom our associates and prepare them for their current and future roles," commented Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. "Alongside these plans, we have also recently launched one of the most robust recruitment related websites in the industry: http://www.Starwood.jobs to assist in our recruitment drive as we grow our footprint in this dynamic region," added Ko.
Starwood currently operates more than 140 hotels in Asia Pacific, with more than 80 hotels and resorts under development soon to fly Starwood's brand flags including Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, Le Meridien and aloft. Fueling Starwood's growth in the region is its impressive pace in China, driven by a surge in development of Starwood's select service brands and the increased exposure of the company's upper upscale and luxury brands in the Asia Pacific region.
Of the hotels under development in Asia Pacific, more than half are in China, where Starwood expects to double its portfolio by 2011. The Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton brands lead the growth in this region. In addition to the 43 hotels Starwood currently operates in China, Starwood has more than 40 new properties opening soon. The company is also experiencing significant growth in India. Building on its current portfolio of 20 properties in India, Starwood has 10 more under development in vibrant technology hubs such as Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore. Westin and Aloft are particularly hot in India right now. In the past few months, Westin signed deals for five new properties, and Aloft executed deals for three new properties.
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About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands:
St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Meridien(R), Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, and the recently launched aloft(SM), and element(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit http://www.starwoodhotels.com .
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)
